I had a couple good buddies stop by the tattoo shop yesterday for a little motorcycle rap session

My friend Mikey and our friend Rob , a local tattoo practitioner came by after a nice afternoon ride and we got to hang out for an hour or so and shoot the shit . Rob has a bitchin 1969 BSA that he actually found in a barn in Iowa or some shit like that . He's had it for a few years now and just recently decided to knock the dust off the old girl and get her fired up . It's pretty original , not a chopper or bobber , just a really neat old bike . While we were standing there enjoying the drips of oil that slowly began to appear under his motor , some old dude ( who actually had a grey beard ) stopped on his way into the guitar shop and I knew it was on . He had a twinkle in his eye that said he knew something about something .

It was awesome , he didn't even glance at my bike and turned straight for the BSA and went right into his Q&A with Rob .

Rob's no newbie to bikes or shit that goes fast , for what it's worth . His dad is a well known and respected racer and Rob has been going to dry lake meets since he was a slender pup . Apparently our new friend had also spent some quality time at El Mirage & the like , and did lots of crazy racing on old british bikes back in the day . Dirt track , speedway , lots of left turns as well as fast straight line stuff . He also mentioned that he used to sand cast his own big bore cylinders . . . it just kept getting cooler as we talked .

He was full of great stories and information and it's always a trip getting the low down from someone who was in it for the first time around . Old timers like these need to be preserved in a jar somehow , they're an official national treasure . I guess really though , if you take the time to hear their stories and actually listen to the way it was done and how they made the magic happen ( before there was an internet to lay it all out in front of you in a tidy easy to understand package ) , that's their legacy and that will keep them alive . It was super fun getting to know him and hear his tales .

Anyhow , these are some of my friends on some neat old bikes on a really nice day . Middle of winter . . . suck it rest of the world !